This week marks the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a historic milestone for Medicare and seniors across Colorado and the nation. The IRA empowered Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for the first time, delivering critical savings on the top medications retirees depend on.
As the Colorado Alliance for Retired Americans, we understand how vital this progress is for nearly 1 million Coloradans who rely on Medicare for high-quality, affordable healthcare. Our seniors have earned these benefits through a lifetime of hard work, and it is our duty to ensure they remain strong.
In Colorado, we’ve seen firsthand the importance of protecting Medicare from corporate greed. Leaders like Yadira Caraveo have shown unwavering dedication to this cause.
As a pediatrician, Caraveo witnessed how the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs burdened families. In the state legislature, she passed laws to lower drug prices and cap the cost of insulin. In Washington, she supported the IRA and introduced legislation to further reduce drug costs.
We applaud Caraveo’s efforts to continue this historic work by building on the IRA provisions that allow Medicare to negotiate prices directly with drug companies for some of the most expensive brand-name drugs. Currently, this law is set to save more than 100,000 Coloradans who take medications selected for negotiations, such as Eliquis, Xarelto, Jardiance, Januvia, and Farxiga. Additionally, the IRA has capped out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients, which the Republican Study Committee’s proposed budget would eliminate, threatening $48 million in expected savings for over 177,000 Coloradans.
Coloradans overwhelmingly support Caraveo’s work to further reduce drug costs and curb pharmaceutical price gouging. Her co-sponsorship of legislation that would more than double the number of prescriptions eligible for price cuts—from 20 to 50—demonstrates her commitment to strengthening Medicare. We thank her for standing up to big drug companies to lower costs for seniors and for fighting to protect Medicare, a program that has allowed Coloradans to retire confidently for nearly six decades.
However, threats to these retirement programs persist. The recently announced national conservative agenda, Project 2025, aims to dismantle the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and decimate Medicare and healthcare programs for all Americans by repealing key aspects of the IRA and the Affordable Care Act. This agenda represents an unprecedented threat to the future of Medicare.
On July 30, the 59th anniversary of Medicare being signed into law, Alliance members from across the country convened on Capitol Hill to spotlight the dangers posed to Medicare by Project 2025. This radical agenda, backed by the Heritage Foundation and other far-right organizations, seeks to privatize Medicare, turning it into a for-profit scheme that would undermine the healthcare security of millions of seniors. We rallied in front of the Heritage Foundation’s DC headquarters and met with congressional staff to deliver a clear message: we will not stand by while Medicare is dismantled.
Rich Fiesta, our Executive Director, summed up our resolve: “This is the 59th anniversary of Medicare and we want to keep it strong so that there is a 60th and a 61st. We’re here at the Heritage Foundation because this is Donald Trump’s buddies who have a plan to totally privatize the program. Under their plan, everyone would be put into a for-profit company… This is a backward Project 2025 program based on greed.”
The contrast is stark. While leaders like Caraveo work to strengthen Medicare, House Republicans have sided with big drug companies and are actively working to strip away Medicare’s new ability to negotiate prices, once again leaving Coloradans at the mercy of corporate greed. Their proposed budget would gut Medicare, putting millions of seniors at risk.
On this anniversary of Medicare and the IRA, Coloradans can be grateful for representatives like Yadira Caraveo who are fighting to protect their healthcare. We must call on all elected officials to follow her lead and reject dangerous proposals like Project 2025 that threaten the future of Medicare. Together, we can ensure that Medicare remains strong for current and future retirees.
Ed Augden is President of Colorado Alliance for Retired Americans.
